Kurt, I'm surprised that are former NP rangers on this blog have not commented on this article...not a peep so far. Although, a pittance of a crime in comparsion in what some of Bushs lackeys have gotten away with. Ms. Bucello will pay for the crime and dwindle in the wind with a ruin reputation. I'm not sure if she looses her 30 year pension. But, there some ex-congressman who have been convicted on a more serious crime and sitting quite pretty with a damn nice pension plan. I guess crime does pay for the smooth talking jaded (a worhtless horse) politician who screws the American taxpayer.

Beamis, my apology for not being more concise. Since you were a former government employee, would you know if you are allowed to keep your pension (retirement plan) if convicted on grand theft? Seems like, the higher you go up the government ladder (regarding your prestigious status) and if you get caught with your hands in the till, you still get to keep the fat retirement check. Right! In Ms. Buccello case, I said enough to reckon that she is not eligible for rehire. The crime speaks for its self but not the free pension...if she's a felon! I hope my point is clear ranger!

Frank and Beamis, crime to fit the punishment...depends who you are. Heard of cases where poor souls get thrown into the slammer (3 years for the first offense) for stealing a six pack of beer. How about being black and crossing the street behind a white women, next thing your accused of rape...later lynched! True case in the deep south! All kinds of discrepancies in crime and punishment...pending on your rank and file in life as a big fish. Maintenance decretionary mistake for $120.00 (likely a honest accounting error) and the guy gets canned...sounds like a set up.

So in essence, the opinion you're all expressing is that the NPS system is no different than corporate America or our wonderful governmental corruption. Is that a surprise to anyone? The bigger they are the less they fall. The lower and middle classes comprise well over 99% of the residents of your local jail, but is anyone naive enough to believe they're the only ones responsible for crimes against the American public? Can someone sit there with a straight face and claim that by percentage the wealthy are only 1% of the populace? The wealthy have better access to the upper echelon of shyster lawyers and can afford to pay off a corrupt judicial system. This country's current state of affairs reads suspiciously like France before Lou and Marie went to the chopping block. Anybody care to assist in construction of the scaffold?

Ms. buccello's offenses are more egregious because she scammed some of her free tickets by cancelling official duty flights -one was a death notification to the wife of a slain ranger- and then redeemed the tickets for later personal use. Then she lied about it. How low can you get? The posters above are quite right; there is a horrible double-standard in disciplinary issues, depending upon the employee's GS-rank and political status. Few government managers really get taken down as hard as field-level employees for similar offenses. Ms. Buccello will most likely escape prison time, and since she pleaded guilty to a misdemenor instead of a felony, she will be allowed to carry firearms. She will undoubtably receive her government retirement for life, courtesy of the taxpayers she ripped off. This is a real slight to the vast majority of National Park Service field rangers who are honest, and whose pensions will be much less than hers. And, some of the rangers Buccello investigated, presumably for lessor crimes than she admitted to, won't receive law enforcement retirement at all.

This is funny. This type of "crime" has gone on for many decades. My in-laws both worked with the BOI and I think my father-in-law built up a nice workshop with Gov't tools. I know he sure passed some my way. I can remember when the Fed budget wasn't passed during Clinton's term and they all had a paid 3 week vacation. My in-laws came to visit and whined and whined about being out of work for 3 weeks. After a couple days of that I reminded them it was a "paid vacation" and one that no workin stiff who pays their wages would EVER get. They got in a huff and left in their motorhome for other more friendly places. Oh yeah, they did get paid for that lost time. That, to me, was the same as stealing the taxpayer's money.

It should come as no great surprise that some dual career appointments work out well in parks and some don't--not unlike any appointment. I helped make several dual career appointments during my career that worked out very well. As to nepotism being rampant, I doubt it. There are very few places where there is a sufficient diversity of positions available to make husband and wife teams possible. Many couples, therefore, spend long periods of time working apart. Despite what Frank may think, it's not that easy when NPS employees get married.

I can't speak for Mary Bomar but I do know Wade pretty well. I know that he does not condone the actions of Pat Buccello any more than I do. I don't get the part about rampant criminality. Beamis and Frank are convinced it exists. I'm convinced it doesn't. Frank claims he has seen supervisors breaking employment law on several occasions. I hope he brought those instances to the attention of park management, but I guess he wouldn't because he doesn't seem to trust them either.

I also don't get the part about badges with numbers. The only use of the numbers of my badgees were for property records. I always wore a name tag on my uniform. When a visitor asked me who I was, I didn't say that I was badge 3016. I said I was Rick Smith and pointed to my name tag.

As to cover ups, I am sure that some have occurred. Frank believes he has tracked down two instances. There are probably more. On balance, however, I found during my career that the NPS was pretty up front about admitting its mistakes. It's also been pretty strainght forward with some of its harshest critics. I remember Bob Barbee, the superintendent of Yellowstone, talking with Alston Chase on network TV about their divergent opinions regarding the Yellowstone ecosystem. Walt Dabney appeared almost nigntly on network news shows during the Yellowstone fires of 1988 to answer critics of the federal government's fire management policies. I'm not sure that the NPS has always been as transparent as I would have wished, but I left the NPS satisfied that the agency did not routinely sweep things under the rug.

Frank and Beamis' careers seem to have shown them a side of the NPS that I didn't often see. I only worked in 6 parks, two regional offices and the headquarters office in DC. Their experience may have been much more extensive than mine was; it was apparently much less pleasant.

Rick Smith

Well, I read those comments, also. I am tempted to say that it is the same 4 or 5 people making multiple comments, but I can't be sure. Of course, if you are "chronically disgruntled", are a "nihilist" or feel "marginalized, you are more likely to comment on an issue like Ms. Buccello's conduct. Those of us who abhor it are less likely to comment since she is apparently going to pay for what she did.

As to her retirement, the NPS probably has nothing to do with it. Retirements are handled by the Office of Personnel Management qnd the Civil Service Retirement System. I am not an expert in this area and will defer to anyone who is, but her crime may not have risen to the level that would allow the government to deny her annuity. All I am saying is that we shouldn't be too quick to hang something on the NPS over which it may have little control.

Once again, I will say that I am sorry that some of the people who post on NPT had such rotten experiences with the NPS I didn't. Most of the NPS retirees with whom I communicate didn't either. I know a lot of current NPS employees. I don't hear anything from them about wholesale corruption or criminality within the Service. When they talk about poor morale, they attribute it to the jpressures of working for an Administration with such a sorry environmental record. It's that record that worries me.

Rick Smith